England hopeful of Ben Stokes bowling on final day as Rahul-Gill partnership exposes over-reliance

MANCHESTER: England are keeping fingers crossed that their star all-rounder Ben Stokes will be fit enough to bowl on the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, after KL Rahul and Shubman Gill stitched together a marathon partnership that left England struggling without their main man with the ball.

Stokes, who has been the leading wicket-taker in the series, did not bowl a single delivery in India’s second innings for the first 63 overs, as India ended Day 4 with 174/2. The England camp revealed he was feeling stiff and sore, and his availability for Day 5 will now depend on overnight assessment by the medical team.

India, who were reeling early in the innings, bounced back in style as Rahul and Gill added an unbroken 174-run stand for the third wicket in 62.1 overs, batting through two full sessions without losing a wicket. England’s bowlers, especially once the ball went soft, looked toothless without Stokes’ ability to produce something out of nothing.

The one real chance they created, a mistimed shot by Gill was dropped at backward point by Liam Dawson off Brydon Carse, summing up a frustrating day for the hosts.

Having returned from hamstring surgery earlier this year, Stokes put himself through a tough rehabilitation programme just to be ready for this high-profile India series. His efforts have shown as he’s already bowled 129 overs, the most he has bowled in a single Test series in his career.

\Stokes retired hurt with cramps on Day 3 but returned later and went on to notch up his first Test century in over two years on Day 4.

“He’s a bit stiff and sore,” Marcus Trescothick, England’s assistant coach, said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

“He’s had quite a big workload in the last few weeks, and then batting in the first innings, he was getting quite a bit of cramp. We are hoping that with another night’s rest and a bit more physio work overnight, he’ll be back and doing a bit tomorrow,” he noted.

He was seen clutching his hamstring while chasing a ball in the field, sparking concern, but England batting coach Marcus Trescothick later downplayed it.

“It’s just a build-up,” he said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.

“It’s just such a heavy workload, from where he’s been to what he’s doing. It’s just trying to monitor it, and obviously the cramp that he was getting yesterday, you have that little bit of worry… We’ll see what he’s like tomorrow,” he added.

Interestingly, England had already decided not to bowl Stokes during the fourth day. It’s clear that his workload has been a concern after bowling 19.2 overs on the final day at Lord’s to seal that win, Stokes said he had to spend four days in bed to recover. Even in Manchester, he has already bowled 24 overs across two days, taking an impressive 5/72, but it seems to have taken a toll.

“If he was off the field, then he wouldn’t be able to come back and bowl tomorrow,” he noted.

Stokes, who has not played a white-ball international in nearly two years and is skipping The Hundred next month, is unlikely to feature in competitive cricket again until the Ashes series begins in November.

With the series on the line and India showing no signs of letting up, England will be desperately hoping their captain has one more spell left in him. (ANI)